Changes in Mindfulness Following a Mindfulness Telehealth Intervention

Abstract

The goal of this pilot study was to examine changes in self-reported levels of mindfulness in the context of an 8-week mindfulness telehealth intervention for military veterans with combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Participants were 24 male veterans with PTSD aged 23 to 66 (M = 55.2). Participants were randomized to either a mindfulness telehealth intervention or a PTSD psychoeducation telehealth condition. Both interventions consisted of two in-person sessions and six telephone sessions. Measures were collected pre- and posttreatment and at 6-week follow-up and included the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), the White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI), and the Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ). Conditions by time interaction effects were found in the expected direction for the MAAS, WBSI, FFMQ Observing, and FFMQ Describing facets, indicating gains in skills for the mindfulness group over the course of the study. Results also suggest that a brief telehealth intervention introducing mindfulness skills may be effective in increasing levels of mindfulness as measured by these instruments. Limitations include a small sample size and lack of intent-to-treat analyses. The present study represents one of the few published studies to use multiple measures of mindfulness to examine changes in mindfulness skills and the first known published study to examine changes in mindfulness following a brief telehealth intervention.

Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003). The benefits of being present: mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 822–848. doi:
10.​1037/​0022-3514.​84.​4.​822.
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